Motor voters stalled at polls Election Day

Posted: Monday, November 13, 2000

By Lee ShearerStaff Writer

State election officials will revisit parts of the state's ''motor voter'' program after a flood of complaints from people who thought they were registered to vote, but were turned away from polling places Tuesday.

And what's worse is that a single telephone call to the Georgia Department of Public Safety could have enabled many of the disenfranchised voters to cast a ballot, according to Kara Sinkule, a spokeswoman for Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox.

Clarke County election officials got hundreds of calls about the problem on Tuesday, and election officials in Oconee, Franklin, Barrow and other Northeast Georgia counties also reported similar problems.

''Something's not working like it should,'' said Clarke County Election Superintendent Dot Barrett.

Officials don't know how many people were affected.

''We have heard about that problem in the (Atlanta) metro area and some other areas of the state, including Albany, Valdosta and Muscogee County, but as far as a number, it's real hard to tell,'' Sinkule said.

Many of the people with problems had registered at a public library, a Kroger Co. grocery store or when they went to get a driver's license or renew one -- all part of the computerized ''motor voter'' program adopted in 1994 which was designed to make it easier for Georgia citizens to register to vote.

But with the new system, there are more things that can go wrong, Sinkule said. A worker at the library or with the Georgia State Patrol might forget to note the registration, she pointed out, or a registration card might go to the wrong address.

''Although it's more convenient, unfortunately there are more areas for mistakes to be made,'' Sinkule said.

Many of those who were turned away were actually entered in the state's data banks as eligible, she said. But local elections officials did not know that. They also did not know until later in the day on Tuesday that a query to the state Department of Public Safety's computer system would have verified the eligibility of many of the voters, even though the voters had never received a registration card.

The secretary of state's office will see what can be improved after the state's official vote count is concluded next week, Sinkule said.

''These issues will be examined and addressed,'' she said.

That's small consolation to Alison Carlisle, who said she got blank stares when she tried to vote at Mars Hill Baptist Church in Oconee County.

Married in May, Carlisle trekked in July to a Kroger store in Athens to change her voting location and to change her driver's license to her married name.

At the polling place, no one could tell her what to do, but when she called the Oconee County Board of Elections, she learned that in fact she was eligible to vote there, according to state records. But she was unable to make it back to the polling place before the polls closed, she said.

Anyone who registers and then does not get a card back from election officials should find out why, Sinkule said.

''We're not blaming the customer, but if you don't get a card within about a month, that should be a red flag,'' she said.

Higher education reporter Lee Shearer can be reached at lshearer@onlineathens.com or (706) 208-2236.